A top panel from across the media spectrum – chaired by Andrew Neil – came together at the British Library last night to address what The Observer this week called “the big, nagging question that journalists obsess over”: Is paid-for news content the right strategy for commercial success?

It is not often that a PR person is awake at 6.28am let alone sending emails, so it was clear there was something afoot on Friday morning when a “For Immediate Release” announcement from Purple PR pinged into my inbox.